Posted on 05/17/2004 9:51:38 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Edited on 05/17/2004 9:55:03 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. officials said Monday they are concerned that other sarin-filled munitions may still exist in Iraq - and may not be well-marked - after evidence indicated a roadside shell that exploded contained the nerve agent.
No one was injured in the initial detonation Saturday, although U.S. soldiers who later transported the round did experience symptoms consistent with low-level nerve agent exposure, said a U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity.
In this case, it appears two components in the shell, which are designed to combine and create deadly sarin, did not mix upon detonation, the official said.
It was unclear whether those responsible for the attack knew it was a conventional or chemical round, the official said. The 155-mm shell did not have markings to indicate it contained a chemical agent, the official added.
U.S. officials believe, based on evidence, that the shell was an experimental munition produced before the 1991 Gulf War, called a "binary type," the official said.
Former President Saddam Hussein's government had declared binary sarin testing and production after the 1995 defection of Iraqi weapons chief Lt. Gen. Hussein Kamel al-Majid, Saddam's son-in-law.
But Saddam's government never declared that any sarin or sarin-filled shells still remained.
For that reason, the U.S. government considers the discovery of the sarin shell as significant, the U.S. official said.
"What is of concern is that that there may be more of them out there," the official also said.
Since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, a U.S. group of weapons inspectors, called the Iraq Survey Group, has been searching for weapons of mass destruction, finding only signs of programs - but no evidence - of actual weapons.
The existence of a sarin-filled munition thus could become the first indication that Saddam's regime had not destroyed all banned weapons.
The binary-type shell found Saturday holds chemicals in separate sections for security and storage reasons. The chemicals are then mixed after firing to produce sarin.
At a Baghdad press conference Monday, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the chief military spokesman in Iraq, said he believed that insurgents who rigged the artillery shell as a bomb did not know that it contained the nerve agent. The dispersal of the nerve agent from such a rigged device is very limited, he said.
Nerve gases inhibit key enzymes in the nervous system, blocking their transmission. In large enough doses, sarin causes convulsions, paralysis, loss of consciousness and potentially fatal respiratory failure. Small exposures can be treated with antidotes, if administered quickly.
An Iraqi 155-mm chemical shell can contain 2 to 5 liters of volume, which could hold a deadly concentration of sarin, if properly mixed and dispersed.
The concentration of sarin involved in Saturday's explosion wasn't clear.
This is a start.
fyi
With so little real information out on this, one could spin it hard in either direction. What does raise my curiousity some is something I read on the long thread on this subject, that it seems the WH thought the info was still classified and were surprised that Gen Kimmett announced it. Maybe just crossed signals, or maybe something much more.
the US and the coalition better be concerned ... if those terrorists ever figure out how to use a WMD we are in trouble
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
You should see the mass denial goin' on over at DU right now...
CNN/MSNBC spin : "Controversy brews over US-planted sarin agents."
I'm not near a tv...is that true?
No, it's not. Just making fun of CNN/PMSNBC
Amazing how the tides change. We went in expecting the Republican Guard to use WMD against our troops as a concern of ours.
Why should our finding what we were looking for be a surprise or major concern now? Seems like, or we should be going back to plan A.
Sad that you had to ask if it was true
You know, I've often thought about how much things would be different if Sadman had used WMDs against our forces. The deadly residue floating around on the desert winds would have made life there unbearable for quite a while. I only hope we find these weapons before they can be used against us. Only a lib nitwit would think they aren't buried in that vast desert.
Of even more concern is that there may be more of them over here.
Whoa, there ace. You might want to rethink the martial law aspect of this.
Iraqi General Urges Support of U.S. Troops (this is in Fallujah!!!)
Naw, it's Bush's fault. I don't know how quite yet, but I'm sure the Clymer News Network, Dan Blather, and the high school dropout over at ABC are conspiring on figuring out a way to blame Bush somehow. We all know EVERYTHING is Bush's fault. I woke up with a neck cramp, that's Bush's fault somehow too .
Mustard gas too. I really hate mustard, particularly that french grey poop on stuff. His fault too.
What?
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